Eric Decker is the best wide receiver currently on the Jets’ roster. There is no denying that fact. But Decker does not want to peg himself as a No. 1 receiver – a term thrown around a lot in the first few days of free agency, as the Jets sought, well, a No. 1 receiver.

“I don’t think there’s ever numbers or roles for certain people,” Decker said on a conference call Friday with reporters. “There’s 11 guys on the field at a time. It’s not just one guy that’s going to make a difference. I just hope to be a positive asset for this team.”

Decker had spoken to The Denver Post shortly after he agreed to terms with the Jets late Wednesday night. But Friday’s comments were his first to the New York media.

Decker was an important acquisition for the Jets’ second-year general manager, John Idzik. He is Idzik’s most significant free agent signing to date.

• Decker is going from playing with a future Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning, to a second-year quarterback who struggled last year, Geno Smith. The Broncos had the most prolific scoring offense in NFL history last season. The Jets ranked second-to-last in the league in passing yards.

Some observers believe Manning is the primary reason for Decker’s success the past two seasons, during which he caught 172 passes for 2,352 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“As a player and as a competitor, obviously I enjoyed playing with Peyton Manning,” Decker said. “He’s a future Hall of Famer. I learned a lot from him. I had a lot of opportunities with him. Did it help? Of course. He’s a future Hall of Famer. But I think I’m also a good football player, and I think my skill set and my assets can help a team win football games.”

• The bottom line is, Decker basically could not have returned to play with Manning even if he wanted. The Broncos did not officially offer him a contract, he said. So it’s not like he really had a choice between Manning and Smith. But the Jets wanted him, and that’s what mattered to Decker.

“I would say that the New York Jets have given me the most respect,” he said. “That’s important to me. I want to be an asset to a team, and they expressed that with me. I think this team has a lot of potential. I feel like I’ve always played the underdog role throughout my life, throughout my football career.

“There was no official offer from (the Broncos). That’s what I really enjoyed about New York, is that they saw me as an asset. They respected me as a football player.”

Along the lines of the underdog stuff he mentioned, Decker was a two-star recruit coming out of Cold Spring, Minn. (population: 4,025). He played at Minnesota, 75 miles down the road in Minneapolis. It was the only college that offered him a scholarship, according to Rivals. Decker turned himself into a third-round draft pick, spent his first four seasons with the Broncos and now has a contract with the Jets that pays him $15 million guaranteed. Not too shabby.

• Was Decker disappointed the Broncos didn’t offer him a contract?

“I understand it’s a business,” he said. “They felt like they had certain decisions they wanted to make. It just didn’t work out.”

• Decker did his homework before coming to the Jets. He watched film from last year, to get a feel for Smith, as well coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s West Coast offense. He talked to a couple football friends, to learn about playing in New York. But one of those people was not Tim Tebow, he said.

• Decker got a chance to see the Jets’ facility during Super Bowl week because the Broncos trained there leading up to their 43-8 loss to the Seahawks. Decker being able to familiarize himself with the surroundings “definitely didn’t hurt” his decision to sign with the Jets, he said.

“Obviously, I hadn’t spent much time in New Jersey beforehand, and the perceptions that you hear about the place, that it’s so crowded and all this stuff, it really changed my mind when I got to go to the facility and see the surroundings,” he said. “I would say that week helped, just to get comfortable and understand the area a lot better.”

Decker mentioned “the best of both words,” with the Jets’ facility being located in suburban Florham Park, but also being fairly close to Manhattan. Almost all Jets players live in the quiet, suburban areas around Florham Park.

• Of course, Super Bowl week ended disappointingly for Decker. He had just one catch for 6 yards in the Super Bowl.

“I wish I would have played a better football game,” he said.

• He now gets a chance for redemption at MetLife Stadium. Not only that, but his wife, Jessie James Decker, gets to further her career as a country pop music singer in the nation’s biggest city. She has released one studio album, in 2009, and it debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200. But coming to New York was strictly a football decision, Decker said, though he recognizes the other opportunities.

“Honestly, my priority was football,” he said. “I wanted to do what’s best for me as a football player. Obviously, being in the biggest and the best city in the country offers a lot of opportunity, but what my mindset was, was what’s good for me from a football standpoint. Overall, we think it’s a great decision and a great place for us as a family and career wise.”

• Decker’s wife is due to give birth to a daughter any day now. Between him trying to find a team to sign with and his wife’s pregnancy, “it’s really a lot going on,” he said.

“When I got to make a decision to play for the Jets organization, it was almost a sigh of relief, just to have that process over with, and get back to my wife and just take care of her and get ready for this newborn,” he said.

• Finally, Decker has a foundation that provides service dogs to military veterans in need of them. It is called Deckers Dogs, and you can check it out here, at DeckersDogs.org.